POLS 365 IR Writing Assignment One

Transcripts - POLS 365 IR Writing Assignment One

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Gabriel Passmore
POLS 365
Intro to International Relations
Writing Assignment One
10-4-2013
Given the recent events in Syria it is only right that the international community
intervene in the conflict in order to restore stability back into that part of the region. The
reason for intervention in the Syrian conflict not only rests with the prospect of restoring
stability, but also with the rational of helping those who cannot help themselves on the
grounds of moral and ethical principals. It’s difficult for the international community to
idly stand by and watch as a brutal dictator like Bashar Al-Assad kills protesting Syrians
not only with conventional weapons, but now with chemical weapons in order to further
devastate the opposition toward his oppressive rule. If the international community does
not intervene then their compassion for humanity should be brought into question. What
if the roles were reversed and the members of the international community were not free,
but instead they lived under Assad’s rule with the daily threat of being killed amidst the
conflict, would they not want a superior international superpower to come to their rescue
and end the bloodshed so no more people would have to die?
Intervention in Syria is unavoidable because of some of the information surrounding
the Assad government and the necessity for regime change. The U.S. and other
international observers have accused the Assad regime of being a supporter of terrorism
because of its ties to the Iranian regime and the Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Information was declassified that the Assad regime has been building as arsenal of
chemical weapons to possibly use against its citizens as well as the speculation that it

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may intend to sell the chemical weapons to other rouge regimes in order to build up its
credibility as a supplier. The responsibility of who should intervene in Syria would be
best if it were confounded to a coalition of democratic states that all believed in the same
goal. This system of intervention could work best because it would be comprised of
multiple states getting involved instead of one state acting alone, which would allow for
different levels and strategies of force from all the actors involved.
If no such coalition exists then the U.S. would have to intervene alone because it is the
only superpower capable of delivering enough military strength to subdue another
country’s army and change the regime. If no single state or states are willing to intervene
in Syria then a resolution could be left up to NATO to intervene and establish a no fly
zone. Out of all these different possibilities for outside intervention, the best plan to go
with is the coalition of different states as mentioned before because it involves more
actors that could possibly end the Syrian conflict in a timely fashion. If a coalition of
states or the U.S. alone decides to intervene in the Syrian conflict the type of action they
should take would require a plan for regime change, air strikes on Syrian military forces,
boots on the ground, the confiscation of Assad’s chemical weapons arsenal, arming
Syrian rebels who are of no affiliation to Al Qaeda, establishing a pathway for
democratic reforms including free and fair elections, and preventing Al Qaeda
fundamentalists from coming to power. The first course of action is to oust Assad and his
inner circle from power because his authoritarian rule is the reason behind the protests
and his crimes against humanity should be brought to justice.
Arming the Syrian rebels and providing boots on the ground would help identify the
Al Qaeda linked rebels and the regular Syrian rebels when deciding who to support and

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arm and who to target. Conducting air strikes on the Syrian military forces would set up a
first strike advantage for the intervening forces, which would favor the offence over the
defense by devastating Assad’s military capabilities first in order to reduce the threat of
their second strike potentials. Confiscating Assad’s chemical weapons arsenal would
keep it out of the hands of terrorists so they could not use them on civilians, neighboring
countries, or U.S. and allied forces. Moving Syria away from dictatorship and towards
democratic reforms is the best way to bring a sense of stability to the country because it is
obvious that the Syrian people are tired of tyranny judging from the protests against
Assad’s oppressive rule and that democracy is the last alternative they have in order to
achieve peace. All these actions would not be possible without the use of outside
intervention; it does not seem practicable that the Syrian rebels can defeat Assad’s forces
without an intervening entity. If the international community can find it in themselves to
organize a coalition that is willing to intervene in states that carry out horrific atrocities
against its civilians then Syria and the rest of the worlds conflicts could soon be over.